When I first moved to Hither Green in South East London over a decade ago there were few reasons to visit the parade of shops by the railway station but then You Don’t Bring Me Flowers opened and everything changed. Fabulous flowers and delicious homemade cake is a combination hard to resist.

The coffee shop and florist takes its name from the late 70s Barbra Streisand song and there’s a huge picture of Babs’ striking profile as you walk in. Tucked away under the stairs is the area where they create their beautiful bespoke bouquets while the rest of the two-storey building is a homage to years gone by with stripped floors, formica-topped tables with retro lamps.

The walls are lined with gorgeous handmade items for sale including tea towels, jewellery and woollen tea cosies (a knitting group meets upstairs every Tuesday from 4pm-6pm) and the cupboards are packed with lovely local produce including my favourite Catford honey. Up the steep wooden staircase, where they sometimes hold art exhibitions, there are more tables and chairs, plus a small area where you can sit out when the sun shines.

Lynne, who owns the shop, makes the flapjacks and Nina and Pat (Lynne’s mum) bake all the other cakes. Excellent bread and pastries come from Boulangerie Jade in nearby Blackheath. As well as the cake, and the friendly staff, what I particularly love about YDBMF is nothing is just for show. The 1960s Gaggia coffee machine is still very much is working order as is the huge blue American fridge. And if they are not too busy serving customers they will even play requests from their vinyl collection on their Bush record player.

Photo courtesy of You Don’t Bring Me Flowers